Wajahat named in Pakistan team for Indian tour (15 January 1999)

15 January 1999

Wajahat named in Pakistan team for Indian tour

By Samiul Hasan

KARACHI, Jan 14: The Pakistan cricket selectors on Thursday announced seemingly a balanced 16-man squad for the forthcoming tour of India despite the fact that opener Aamir Sohail was not considered for selection.

The team was finalized here at the National Stadium where the training camp concluded on Thursday. Later, chairman of selectors Wasim Bari released the names to the media after getting the clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Wasim Akram (captain), Moin Khan (vice-captain), Saeed Anwar, Wajahatullah Wasti, Mohammad Naveed Qureshi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Ijaz Ahmad, Salim Malik, Yousuf Youhana, Shahid Afridi, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Azhar Mahmood, Mushtaq Ahmad, Saqlain Mushtaq and Nadeem Khan.

Three stand-byes were also named, including: Rashid Latif, Mohammad Akram and Shahid Nazir.

The selected squad is a mixture of experience and fresh talent. Of the 16 players, only Naveed Qureshi and an uncapped Wajahatullah Wasti are the new faces while Nadeem Khan has played a Test against the West Indies on the 1993 tour. Rest of the players are rich in experience and have been playing together for quite sometime.

The squad is a combination of three openers, five middle-order batsmen (including Shahid Afridi), four pacers, three spinners and a wicket-keeper.

Under the circumstances, it is the best team that could have been selected, experts said. Had Aamir Sohail attended the camp, he might have been included which could have brought more respectability. But Sohail, who led the team in the Sahara Cup in Toronto followed up by home series' against Australia and Zimbabwe, stayed away from the training camp in Lahore and Karachi.

"I had inquired from the PCB about Aamir Sohail. I was told by the secretary that Sohail has sent a fax according to which he was suffering from chest infection," chief selector Wasim Bari said.

He added: "When the man didn't attend the camp, how could he be selected. We had an open mind and it would have been upto the selection committee to pick him or not if he had attended the camp."

However, Sohail and the selection committee are on tangles after the opener criticised the selectors for not consulting him during the series against Australia and Zimbabwe. Wasim Bari had responded by saying that on performance, Sohail didn't merit a selection.

The selectors had ignored Aamir Sohail for the training camp when they had submitted a list of 22 players to the executive council for approval. But the councillors, exercising their constitutional powers, had included Sohail's name.

"You can't pick a man whose form and fitness is not known," Bari justified.

Wicket-keeper Rashid Latif was also not picked in the side and instead kept in the stand-bye list. Latif's non-inclusion was quite understandable as he remained on the injured list on the tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe when he was the captain. He also missed several matches on the New Zealand tour with the Pakistan `A' side.

"The selectors thought that since the journey to India was not very long, Rashid can be rushed anytime, if required. Instead we decided to include a pacer," stated Bari.

Bari claimed that Shahid Afridi has been selected as a middle-order batsman and a wrist spinner while there were three specialist openers.

"It could have been very risky to go with two openers for three Tests. Shahid Afridi was considered as a middle-order batsman.

"Wajahatullah Wasti impressed us at the camp. In addition to this, he had performed well in the Commonwealth Games and in New Zealand with Pakistan A team. As far as Naveed Qureshi is concerned, we have stick with him after he scored 30 odd in the Lahore Test against Zimbabwe," Bari stated.

The former captain said four pacers and three spinners were included in the team keeping in mind the Indian conditions. "We have kept a balance so that The Management faces no problem in team selection. Whether the Indians prepare spinners track or pacers wicket, we should be well equipped to exploit the conditions and that's we have tried to do.

"We have three different type of spinners and I am sure they would live upto their reputation," Bari said.

Asked the middle-order was void of a left-handed batsman which would tilt the balance of the two teams in India's favour, Bari said: "You can't have everything in the team. It can be an advantage to the Indians but our middle-order is quite experienced.

"You must also not forget that Wasim Akram can also bat as he has a double century against his name in Tests," he added.

On the selection of Shahid Afridi who has been far from impressive in four-day or five-day matches, Bari said Wasim Akram had stressed for his selection claiming that Afridi and Azhar Mahmood had the talent and he would try to groom them into good all-rounders.

Bari said the team could be changed for the one-day triangular series which would be held after the Asian Test Championship in India.

"We are flexible. If the captain wants some changes in the team for the one-day squad, his suggestions can be considered. You see, we have to consider the coming World Cup also."

Source :: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)